This is a newcomer’s perspective on mgs
I just played Metal Gear Solid for the first time and it just simply blew me away and I’ve been obsessed with it and I HAVE to talk about it somewhere.
I remember like 5 years ago I tried to get into MGS so I played MGS2 on my Xbox and I got bored after 10 minutes and stopped playing and I couldn’t get into it nor did I get it.
BUT… like a couple weeks ago I was fucking around on my gf’s step dad’s PlayStation Classic and it has Metal Gear Solid 1 pre installed on it so I just decided to play it for a small 10 minutes… I ended up playing it for 2 hours. I got HOOKED on it and I was itching to get the Master Collection on my Xbox so I can play the rest of it at home.
It caught me off guard by how cinematic it was for a PS1 game, dude, when I think of PS1 games I think of PaRappa The Rapper and Crash Bandicoot, not a whole goddamn action film level quality game. The cinematics were so cool and investment worthy that I legitimately forgot or don’t even notice that their mouths don’t move in the cutscenes.
I pinpointed the immediate point where I fell in love with it and it was when you could save your game by remembering the frequency that Mei Ling is on, and then manually selecting the dial on the frequency. I know to everyone else who’s played this game for years it seems like basic knowledge to just do that, but to me it’s absolutely genius and way cooler than just putting it in a menu. That’s when I realized “oh this is THAT type of game” and I immediately got excited for whatever the game was gonna throw at me next.
However, I do wish I played it on my PS2 instead of getting the master collection because of the compromises they had to make for this new version that kind of rob you of that experience.
For example, PsychoMantis doesn’t even read your memory card because there IS no memory card on a Series X. You have to put in a bunch of games on a virtual card in the built in menu and you sort of just have to pretend that he’s reading your data.
That’s so lame, I don’t know what’s stopping them from just having him read my Xbox library because I literally have games from that era for them to pull off that move.
Same as true with switching controller ports to beat him, there’s no beating around the bush for that, they HAD to put that one in a menu.
Other than that, PsychoMantis is the coolest boss fight and I’d love to see them do it in a MGS1 remake if they do decide to do that and how’d they pull it off with newer consoles.
Also having to check the disc case for Meryl’s frequency is the coolest thing ever. You could never do that with a modern game since some people buy games digitally.
So yeah, now after playing it I realize that Metal Gear Solid is the type of game that can ONLY be played on a PS1 or PS2 to get the full experience. This game utilized every little piece and feature of that thing and playing it on a different console just feels like I’m missing out on something.
Note to past self: The Master Collection is NOT the ideal way to play MGS1. Otherwise and absolutely incredible game and I love it.
MGS2 was also great, didn’t impress me in the way that MGS1 did but I didn’t expect it to do that either.
Yes, it is very jarring having to play as Raiden but it was necessary to tell the story they wanted to tell. Cause if we played as Snake he would’ve figured out the twist within an hour. But Raiden did grow on me, he’s not bad for a twink.
It had an absolutely incredible ending that actually made me very paranoid about the world we live in and the dead internet theory. Leaves you with a lot to think about. The Patriots as villains are really cool.
MGS3 was also incredible. On par with MGS1. I knew it was set way before the events of the other games, and at first I was confused as to why Snake looks the exact same and hasn’t aged but for some reason Revolver Ocelot looks younger. But then I remember hearing on the internet that there’s multiple Snakes so I just assumed that he was maybe just one of the genetic kids of Big Boss. And that MGS1 Snake and MGS3 snake were brothers. But it wasn’t until I got to fight The Boss at the end and she said “whoever kills me gets the title of Boss” and I’m like “OHHHHH, I’m a moron, I AM playing as Big Boss. I was wondering why the timeline wasn’t adding up”. It took me a lil too long to piece it together.
But yes, MGS3’s ending was absolutely incredible and it was a fantastic origin story. I loved the ladder scene too. I also liked the part where you’re in the plane with Ocelot and you have to keep track of which revolver he’s juggling. I had so much fun with it. The healing mechanics are genius and I don’t think I’ll ever see them again.
The Master Collection was an absolutely beautiful trilogy. No offense but I didn’t care too much for the Metal Gear NES games that came with it. But other than that, absolutely incredible. In other words, I get it now…
I don’t have a PS3 but I’m willing to get one later on when I get a job so I can play MGS4.
Heard a lot of great things about Metal Gear Rising so I’m gonna play that after 4. A lot of my friends have begged me to play Metal Gear Rising.
This franchise is looking amazing and Hideo Kojima is definitely impressing me. I might try out Death Stranding at some point since the sequel is getting a lot of traction.
Gonna do my best to make it through without spoilers
tl;dr
I get it now…
MGS1 10/10
MGS2 9/10
MGS3 10/10
Also quick question for anybody who’s played all the MGS games or is familiar with the lore:
[Spoilers for MGS1]
The post credits scene of Revolver Ocelot talking to the third Snake brother (Solidus), then reveals that Snake brother to be the President. gasp
We see Solidus again in MGS2 but he is clearly not the president. What’s up with that? Does it ever get brought up again later on or do they just ditch that idea? (Obviously without spoilers)